Healthy food should be subsidised by government

[ByJadeExpert]

just incase I say anything wrong, I have learning disabilities
I think it should be subsidised by the government so it can be cheaper and affordable for everyone.

I mean things like fresh fish, fresh berries, lean steak, salad leaves all full of nutrients that are beneficial for everyone and prevents inflammation and stress but too expensive for people to eat daily

I don’t doubt you pay for what you eat, but the taxpayer should not have any part in subsidising food choices. Even if they did, a whole load of people would still choose to eat junk.

It seems to be your own food sensitivity issues that are the problem here.

I’m not willing to pay higher taxes to subsidise fresh blueberries for fussy eaters.

I appreciate your comment. I can’t eat lentils and beans anyway without feeling really unwell it makes me feel sick and upsets my stomach

This post wasnt meant to be about me and my own personal food issues

Yep this.

Healthy cooked from scratch food need not be expensive.

Plus it's easy to say 'the government ' as though they are some independent overlord. But what you mean is taxpayers, and many in this country already think they pay too much tax.

Yeah but that wont happen cos it doesnt contribute to parents getting to work on time like the breakfast clubs do.

Go to any city market, herbs and spices are cheap. As actually are fruit and veg. When I was on bones of my arse skint, I would take the £1 bus into the city to go to the market to buy food. £2 return and 2 hrs on the bus to spend £4-5 on fresh food but it would last a week for 2 of us.
The internet is something that most of us have access to and recipes for cheap tasty meals are freely accessible. Yes, it takes a bit of effort but it is possible.

I think the companies making junk food and supermarkets should be taxed even more. maybe some incentive to offer healthy food at a lower price? No idea how this would work though!

I eat mostly veggie. The cost of fresh fruit and veg has massively increased the cost of my shop, and the quality has definitely declined. I could for sure eat cheaper - and crucially save so much time - going to the likes of Iceland and farm foods and buying cheap processed food and ready meals. I don’t do that, but I can see why so many people do.

ultimately it all just stores up problems for the future that an already strained NHS will have to deal with. Addressing these issues early on in life should pay for itself in the long term.

I think the mindset in the UK broadly a lot of people don’t care hugely about food and don’t want to spend a high proportion of income on it, because for some reason don’t place much value on it.

But something nudged you to start this thread.

I don’t agree that the government should hold people’s hands through life. They should support financially those in need, but they can’t subsidise food choices.

If I was frugal enough, I would shop around and find the best quality foods at the best price and cook meals with produce that’s in season for the best quality. Most people won’t do that, as it is too time consuming and / or don’t know how. But that’s not the government’s problem.

The food culture in much of the western world is shocking in general, and not just to do with the cost (time and money) of healthy food,

Diets very high in UPFs, living in highly obesogenic environments, misleading health claims plastered all over food packets. But big food companies control so much of the food economy, so challenging it is difficult. When you walk into a supermarket, most of the stuff advertised is ultra-processed food packed with sugar, salt, ‘flavourings’ and preservatives and emulsifiers like gums so they can churn it out quickly and it lasts forever on the shelves.

There really just needs to be a total shift in how food is allowed to be presented and advertised.

It depends what you want to eat really, some fruit is more expensive than other fruit, same with veg, but that’s the same with anything.

You could pay £2.50 for a punnet of strawberries or for the same £2.50 you could buy a pack of apples AND a pack of oranges/bananas. You don’t HAVE to eat strawberries.

Same with veg, I could pay £2 for a pack of tenderstem brocolli, or for that same £2 I could have got a bag of carrots, a brocolli, a cauliflower and a pack of green beans. You don’t HAVE to eat tenderstem brocolli.

You can absolutely eat healthy on a budget. It requires more thought & planning than a ready meal but it doesn’t have to be more expensive.

Lots ofhealthy food isn’t expensive. The ones you listed are but there lots of other cheaper food. Things like carrots, potatoes, broccoli, green beans, brussel sprouts, cabbage, apples, bananas, pears, whole melons are all cheap and healthy. A whole chicken portioned up for the week, frozen fish, lentils, chickpeas, beans are all cheaper protein. I don’t think the government should be subsidizing steak and strawberries.

@Ladamesansmerci Totally agree If healthy foods were the cheap option nursing homes wouldnt be serving food like this.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/care-homes-spending-just-244-13903615

There is a lot of well documented research on things like food prices, food access, etc, on food insecurity and obesity. It's really not as straight forward as people make out on these threads. If it was, we wouldn't have so many people struggling with weight.

The something that encouraged me to start this thread was watching a Peter Kay stand up comedy on doing a food shop with his mum and then it led my train of thought, I live in a low income area.
i wonder if people would mind if berries and other healthy foods were more affordable , if it meant they didn’t have to pay more tax. Or if they only mind if it means paying more tax

'Same with veg, I could pay £2 for a pack of tenderstem brocolli, or for that same £2 I could have got a bag of carrots, a brocolli, a cauliflower and a pack of green beans. You don’t HAVE to eat tenderstem brocolli.'

Unless there's a special offer on (rare), I'm not sure where you'd get a bag of carrots, a head of broccoli, a cauli and a pack of green beans for £2!

Absolutely, they fuck over farmers, then fuck over the consumer.

Inonly found out recently that organic farmers don’t get paid extra. When you pay more for organic produce, guess who pockets the extra? Supermarkets. I hate them, I wish we could go back to the old way of purchasing food from different specialist shops (fishmongers, bakers, grocers etc) but it doesn’t fit in with our working hours sadly.

Do they mean frozen maybe?

Sorry but no

what should happen is rubbish food should be costing more, so the good food is cheaper than that. You can get plenty of cheap veg at the supermarkets, own brands are great, same for meat

what should also happen is benefits should be given in vouchers so it’s spent on food for kids, not drink and cigarettes for adults

Yes, it’s very complex and often financial cost is not just the main driver but also stuff like cost in terms of the time needed to prepare a meal, the education, knowledge and motivation to be able to prepare healthy food as well as exposure to advertising and an obesogenic environment, access to kitchen equipment, mental capacity for planning and cooking meals. It’s part of a much wider social picture than simply ‘just buy apples and potatoes’.

I'm not sure that's possible either tbh.

We have a massive obesity crisis which starts young. Cooking classes and subsided healthy food could save a fortune.

Oooh I priced it up in asda
0.44 500g carrot
0.79 broccoli
0.93 green beans
So just over. Cauli is a pound though I think

@Mrsttcno1 I agree with you.

Eating a healthy meal that costs the same as something that’s ultra processed from the freezer doesn’t have to be more expensive but it will take a bit more thought and planning. Fruit and veg can be very reasonable if you shop around and although I do sometimes find them tasteless from certain supermarkets, if I go to M&S and get the basic veg like carrots and green beans they taste great and are pretty much the same price as the budget supermarkets (obviously not the case if you opt for purple sprouting broccoli or or Isle of Wight heirloom tomatoes). Our grocers is usually cheaper for fruit and veg as you can pick up what you need only, but comes at the cost of 30 mins of my time on a Saturday morning.

the PP was probably exaggerating a bit but it’s n out far off. Bag of carrots 43p, broccoli 79p, cauliflower £1, green beans 93p. Total £3.19 without any offers. Can get it cheaper in Lidl and with offers.